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There's a new artistic director. Davis McCallum, a 39-year-old Rhodes Scholar and rising star on the New York and regional theater scene, comes to Garrison to succeed Terry O'Brien, who founded the festival 28 summers ago. McCallum was one of more than 100 applicants for the position.

A new director joins the fold. Eric Tucker notches his first show at Hudson Valley, directing "Two Gentlemen of Verona." His concept is to create a company of players to play everything from soldiers to fountains.

There are two never-seen-under-the-tent premieres. "Othello," directed by Christopher V. Edwards, makes its first turn under the tent, as does David Ives' adaptation of Pierre Corneille's "The Liar," directed by Russell Treyz. (Ives himself will make an appearance at the tent on June 15.)

After a few years away, Rhoads and Williamson return. Kurt Rhoads and Nance Williamson, the company's husband-and-wife crown jewels, return to the tent after a couple of years away. Williamson was on Broadway with Orlando Bloom; Rhoads on the road, playing Lincoln. The couple, who live in Garrison, will be busy this summer: Rhoads plays Iago in "Othello" and the clown Launce (among several roles) in "Two Gentlemen of Verona"; Williamson plays Lucetta, the lady-in-waiting to Julia in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," and Emelia, Iago's wife, in "Othello."

This season has a bit with a dog. Rhoads' Launce will rhapsodize about his heartless dog, Crab, in "Two Gentlemen of Verona." He'll be badmouthing a real-life dog: Bulldog Rex O'Reilly won the canine casting call.

Davis McCallum, Hudson Valley Shakespeare's new artistic director, talks about the magic under the Boscobel tent and the company's 28th season: "Othello," "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" and "The Liar." Previews begin June 10. Season ends Aug. 31.
Peter D. Kramer/The Journal News

The new artistic director, Davis McCallum, is an Atlanta native married to an assistant U.S. attorney. They have two sons: Thomas, 6, and Angus, 3.

His wife, Sarah, is a federal prosecutor who will commute to Lower Manhattan for the summer. The couple met as Rhodes Scholars at Oxford. She was studying law but "moonlighting doing student plays."

"She was an actress and was very good and I think she still uses some of that in her work today," he says. "She was terrific as Laura in 'The Glass Menagerie.'"

Asked about his time on the boards, he bristles a bit.

"It would be a mischaracterization to talk about my acting," he says. "But when I was in college, I took a year off and was in a touring company. We did four Shakespeare plays in rep for six months over 30 states. It was a transformational experience. I still think of it as informing my aesthetic in terms of approaching Shakespeare. We would perform in community halls and break rooms and cafeterias. It was a very direct and playful connection with the audience."

The McCallums will be Hudson Valley residents this summer, with the boys attending local camps as the family rents the home of a friend who's in the national tour of the musical "Once."

There's a simplicity to that Tony-winning show that McCallum says is akin to the festival he now leads.

"You're not in the dark being ignored and being presented with something you sit back and regard from a distance. It's happening right there with you. Not to you. But with you."

It helps, he says, that under the tent, the actors are surrounded on three sides by the audience.

"And that you can see them and that the first row of the audience is on the same ground that the actors are standing on. There's something profound about that, I think."

The Strange Bedfellows of Children's Shakespeare Theater present "The Bloody Business of William Shakespeare," a breakneck medley of all the deaths from all of the Bard's plays. 7 p.m., June 6 and 7. At Tappan Manse Barn, 32 Old Tappan Road, Tappan. http://bloodybiz.brownpapertickets.com

The Royal Shakespeare Company and Picturehouse Entertainment present "Henry IV, Part I" on local movie screens, part of the RSC's "Live from Stratford-upon-Avon" the RSC series that beams plays from Shakespeare's home town around the world. Antony Sher plays the title role. At the Showcase Saw Mill and Showcase City Center on June 15 and 16. "Henry IV, Part II" follows in July.

The Public Theater presents Shakespeare in the Park: "Much Ado About Nothing," directed by Jack O'Brien and starring Hamish Linklater ("New Adventures of Old Christine") and Lily Rabe ("The Merchant of Venice") through July 6; and "King Lear," starring John Lithgow, from July 22 to Aug. 17. Free ticketsare distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at noon on the day of each performance. The Virtual Ticketing Lottery is open for day-of-show tickets at www.publictheater.org. The Delacorte Theater is accessible by entering at 81st Street and Central Park West, or 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Rockland Shakespeare Company presents its 17th season with three productions: First up is an abridged "RSC Junior" version of "Much Ado About Nothing" with high-schoolers in the leading roles, June 26-28. The adult season presents "All's Well That Ends Well" and "The Taming of the Shrew" in repertory, July 10-13 and 17-20. The shows will alternate performances, which are nightly at 7. Free. rocklandshakespearecompany.com. 845-574-4471. email cplummer@sunyrockland.edu.